Electrical steering apparatus for ships.



-ratns at present in use. vesselsare at present steered by means of NrrEn- SEMES VBRADLEY A. FISKE, or THE UNITED STATES NAvv, AssrcNoR To WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CoRPonATroN or CnioAco, ILLrNoIs.v

ELECTRICAL 'srsssmciareasarus sos series..

sEEcIEICATroN rowing para of Letters Patent No, eemsaefdeeea April 15, iena Application filed October 17, 1900. Serial No. 33,328.' 'No madeld l To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, BRADLEY A. FISKE., a lieutenant-commander in the United States Navy, have invented a certain new and nsef ful Improvementin'Electrical vSteering Ap. paratus for Ships, .(Case No. 5,) of which the following is a full, clear, concise,'and exact description.

My invention relates to steering apparatus, and` has for its object to provide improved means whereby the helm of a vessel may be controlled electrically from a distant part of the ship, and in particular to provide steering` apparatus which will be extremely simple, inexpensive, and certain in its operation.

Vhile electricallyfcontrolled steering apparatus for vessels is highly desirable, because of the quickness with which the helm can be made to respond,yet it hasbeen thought not so reliable as the steam steering appa- Most of the large steame' engines having controlling.- valves which are operated by means of iron'ropes' and rods connected with the steering-wheel on deck.

Many attempts have been made to control the valve of a steam steering-engine by electricity; but apparatus of this character as heretofore constructed has been quite complicated,owing to the diiculty of making the steeringengine follow the movements of the wheel on deck.. A sailor who moves the steering-wheel must move it in exactly the same wayas he is accustomed to do in ships having no steam vsteering-engine, and when a steam steering-engine is .provided it is essen- .tial that the engine mustv follow exactly the motion of ,the wheelthat is, the helm must be 'moved in one direction or the other as the wheel is moved in a corresponding direction and must stop when the wheel is stopped. The speed of, the engine also must be regnlated in the same Way-that is, when the q steering-engine must be correspondingly fast wheel is moved fast or slowly the speed of the or slow.

. ln accordance with my invention the steam steering-engine is provided with a reversingvalve, which is adapted to be moved in either direction to cause the stcarn-engineto run in gine remains at rest.

either direction, according to the movement of the valve, said valve" being normally main-I tained in a central position, in which the en- An electric motor de vioefis attached to this valve and is adapted' to move the samewhen it receives.current, the direction of motion and the extent to which the valve isopen being dependent upon the character of the current received by said lmotor device. A generator of electricity is provided at the point from which the vessel is to be steered, said generator havingan ar' mature or rotor adapted to be turned by 'hand to supply current 'ofsuitable character tov operate said electric motor device in either quent movement of the valve is great or little, corresponding to the speed with which the steering-wheel is turned.,v

I will describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a dlagram illustrating the preferred embodiment Vl thereof. p

The stearn-engine aoperates a steeringdrum b by means of a worm-gear, andthe steeringndruml is connected in the usual manner with the helm c of the-ship, the helm be i ing moved to port or starboard, according to the directionin which the engine runs. A reversing-valve d is provided for the engine,

said valve being adapted to be moved up or.

down to control the admission of steam to thev cylinders of the engine, a downward movement of the valve causing thelengine to run in one direction and an upward movement causing the engine to run in-an :oppositedirection. Reversing-valves of this character are well know-n in the art and need no detailed description. They are *,'very largely.

gines'.

i An induction-motore, adapted to'be operated by three-phase alternating currents, isY

mounted near the reversing-'valve @Land the shaft of the motor is provid-ed with an arm e', which engages said valve to move the same up or down, according to the direction in which the. armature ofv the induction-motor rotates. Two springs f f are attached to the arm 'e'and tend to maintain the same in a central position, the valve in this position shutting off steam from the cylinders of the engine,'so that the engine ismaintained at rest.

On the decir of the ship at any point from which it is desired that the ship be steered a hand steering-wheel g is mounted, this steering-wheel carrying a gearfwheel h, which meshes with a pinion i,"mounted upon the shaft of a three-phase generator 7c. The generator 7c is connected by conductors Zwith the induction-motor e. When the shaft of the generator is turned in' a given direction, electric currents are generated, which being transmitted to the induction-motor cause 'the armature "of said `motor to turn, the direction of motion and the torque being dependent upon the direction and speed of rotation of the armature of the generator. The particular construction of the generator and motor forms no part of this invention, and the operation of such apparatus being Well understood by'those skilled in the art no den tailed description will be given.

When the steering-wheel is at rest, no current will flow in the conductors Z I., so that the inductormotor e will be at rest, and the reversing-valve d will be maintained in a central position by means of springs f f., the engine being correspondingly at rest. When the steering-wheel is turned in a given direction, the armature of the generator 2c geared thereto is rotated and electric currents transmitted to the induction-motor e 'over conductorsl Z. The torque uponthe armature of the inductionmotor will be dependent upon the speed at which the armature ci? the generator is turned, so that the engine-valve'- will'be opened to a greater or less extent, dependent upon such speedl of the steeringwheel. As soon as the steering wheel isv brought to rest the supply of current to the motor e is stopped, and the springs f f in'- stantly return the reversing-valve .of the steam-engine .to its central position, so that the engine is brought to a standstill. A movement of the'steering-whee'l in an opposite direction cans. s 'acorresponding opposite running-ofthe engine.

By employing my invention a compara-- tively small steering-wheel can be used, and agreat saving is made in the cost of installation,'sin'ce the electric wires may be run in one molding from the generator to the motor instead'of requiring chains or wire ropes, as

heretofore. Where the steeringdcvice is,

controlled 'by Wire ropes running to a'drum turned by the steering-wheel, the expense is,

great, because there are many changes of direction, and consequently many pulleys to be provided. These pulleys must be mounted to run very exactly and may be located lonly in certain places. l i

It will be apparent that numerous modifica.- tions may he made in in y invention which will.

'readily suggest themselvesto those skilled in the art, and I do not, therefore, desire-to be understood as limiting myself to the precise' apparatus shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, the following: f

1. In an electrically-controlled steering apparatus, the combination with a helm, of an electric motor device and mechanism associated therewith for moving the helm, a hand steering-wheehand a generator of electricity having an armature or rotor adapted to be turned by said steering-wheel, and connected with the motor device, whereby the helm maybe controlled by moving said. steering-wheel, l

substantially as set forth.

2. In an electrically-controlled steering apparatus, the combination With a helm and an engine for operating the same, of an electric motor device controlling the engine, and a paratus, the combination with a helm and a steering-engine for moving the same, of a reversing-valve for the engine, a polyphasecurrent induction-motor for moving the reversing-valve and sol controlling the engine,

'generator of electricity having an armature f IOD a hand steering-wheeland a generator ofpolyphase currents geared to said steeringwheel and connected with the said inductionmotor, substantially as set forth.

e. In an electrically-controlled steering apparatus, the combination with a helm and an engine for operating the same, said engine having a reversing-valve, whereby it maybe controlled, said valve being adapted to be moved in either direction to cause the engine .to run correspondingly, the'valve being normally maintained in a central position to keep the engine at rest, of an' induction-motor adapted, under the inlnence of polyphase currents transmitted thereto, to open 'the valve in one direction or the other, and agen erator of polyphase currents connected'with said motor, said .generator beingadapted to be manually operated, whereby the helm may be movedy to one side or the other by turning the generator, substantially as described.

5. In an,electrically-controlled steering appuratus,v the i combination with a Ahelm and a steering-engine adapted to operate the same, said engine havingareversing-valve whereby it may be controlled, said valve being adapted to be vmoved in either direction to cause the engine to run in one direction or the other, according, to the direction of such movement, the valve being normally maintained ina central position to' keep the engine at rest, of an electric motor device adapted to move said valve in either direction, according to the character of current' supplied to it, and a generator of electricity connected with said motor device and adapted t'o be 0pname this 26th day of September, A. D. 1900.

BRADLEY A. FISKE. Witnesses:

A. P. MORRIS, O. CAMPBELL. 

